1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for cutting off a head and a root of bulbs uniformly and simultaneously.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, in fine cutting of bulbs such as an onion, garlic, scallion and the like which have been widely used as cooking materials, it is necessary to cut off beforehand opposite end portions, i.e., a head and a root of the bulbs from a main portion thereof. Accordingly, in effecting such treatment to a large number of bulbs, it is necessary to use mechanical measures. However, using a conventional cutting unit equipped with cutters operable only at fixed positions for cutting off the opposite end portions of the bulbs simultaneously is impractical, since the bulbs vary in size and configuration. Such a cutting operation results in unsatisfactory cutting of the bulbs and produces a loss of useful portions thereof. Insufficient cutting, on the other hand, requires a supplemental cutting operation performed mechanically or manually, and results in considerable decrease in productivity due to difficulty in separating the insufficiently cut bulbs from properly cut bulbs.
Conventionally, to resolve the above-mentioned problem, an advanced type of cutting unit has been proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 45780/1977, for instance. This proposed cutting unit comprises: a supporting/guiding member openable upwardly and downwardly and adapted to support a bulb; a taking in-and-off means for actuating the supporting/guiding member toward and away from a cutting operation area of the unit; a clamping means for clamping the bulb in a direction vertically of supporting/guiding member and operable in a manner synchronized with the supporting/guiding member, to be moved from an upstream side to a downstream side of the cutting operation area; and a cutter changeable in phase between positions opposite upper and lower ends of the bulb in the cutting operation area in a direction along which the bulb is moved, for sequential cutting off of the head and root of the bulb. According to conventional cutting unit of this kind, the bulb must be moved by the clamping means to a position where the head of the bulb is cut by the cutter, changed in its phase after cutting off the root of the bulb. Therefore, the conventional unit is complicated in construction and operation and high in cost.